Sanford Herald Article Masquerade Ball

SANFORD – Sanford's Celery Soup kicked off this year's fundraising season with a party and presentation at Jeanine Taylor's Folk Art Gallery to announce the candidates for celery queen and king.

Celery Soup, presented by Creative Sanford Inc., will be a community performance based on oral histories from Sanford. The idea grew out of Swamp Gravy, a similar production in Colquitt, Ga, which brings millions of dollars to the rural town every year.

Jeanine Taylor, president of the board for Creative Sanford, thought the idea would work in Sanford after seeing the Swamp Gravy production in Colquitt. With former Orlando Mayor Linda Hood by her side a couple years ago, she presented the idea to Sanford Mayor Linda Kuhn, who immediately agreed a similar concept would work for Sanford.

Since it's initial conception, Taylor formed the non-profit organization, Creative Sanford Inc., to raise money for the play. She expects the cost of the first production to be $90,000.

To raise money for the play, Taylor has initiated a fundraising tactic based on the Sanford Chamber of Commerce's model for Mardi Gras. In previous years, the chamber selected several king and queen candidates months before the Mardi Gras ball and parade were held.

Each candidate was responsible to raise as much money as possible before the ball was held. They had managers to help, and were instructed to run their fundraising like a campaign. The candidates who collected the most money were crowned king and queen of Mardi Gras.

The last time Mardi Gras was held three years ago, Claudia Webber and Brian Bulow were crowned queen and king, with both of them raising about $14,000.

Celery Soup will use the same idea, utilizing different candidates to compete to raise the most money before the Celery Ball on March 7.

Currently, there are five candidates but Taylor expects more will join in the coming weeks.

For queen, Mickey Searcy of Interiors by Lawrence David, Officer Melissa Houston of the Sanford Police Department, and jazz singer Jacqueline Jones will compete.

For king, Orlando Sanford International Airport President Larry Dale and Mike Yebba of MJY Building Contractor will compete.

At Tuesday's kickoff, the board of Creative Sanford, along with candidates and supporters, gathered to discuss the fundraising campaign. Each candidate is required to have a "celery stalker" who acts as a campaign manager for the fundraising.

After drinks and snacks, the group assembled in the Rozzie Marks Gallery to discuss fundraising ideas and the progress of Celery Soup. After a brief speech from Kuhn, Taylor introduced the board members, which included Kuhn and Bob Tunis, Sanford's economic development director.

Creative Sanford has already received a grant from the Seminole County Arts Council, and is looking to get another grant. Additionally, during the first phase of fundraising, Creative Sanford collected $13,000.

Taylor, speaking enthusiastically about the project, said she's ready to move forward and get the production started in Sanford. "I want Sanford to be historically hip," she said.

Already, Taylor has several "line catchers" talking to people in Sanford to record their stories. During the presentation, Marlene Hoenig read a portion of her father's recorded story about raising bait worms.

While candidates went over the fundraising rules, Taylor answered questions about the ball and upcoming play. Candidates are allowed to raise money until Feb. 25, and the winning king and queen will have their portraits painted and hung in a prominent place.

The Celery Ball will be held at the Sanford Civic Center.

All donations made to Creative Sanford are tax deductible and no one on the board receives a salary, so all donations go directly to the cause, Taylor said.

At the end of the meeting with candidates, celery stalkers and board members jazzed to start raising money, Taylor wished them luck and asked for testimonials. Barbi Bauman, one of Sanford's special events coordinators, testified to the Swamp Gravy idea and said it was great concept to bring to Sanford.

"I want this production to be a source of community pride," Taylor said